Connecticut’s Version of Ronald Reagan; A Footnote to 2014

Do you know who this is? He’s an actor whose name will be mentioned in the 2014 Connecticut governor’s race.

That actor shown with child star Shirley Temple is Republican John Lodge, who would later be elected Connecticut’s 79th governor. He was the last incumbent governor in our state to be voted out of office. Lodge served two terms before losing to Abraham Ribicoff in 1954. In the clip you’ll see below, Lodge played Temple’s estranged father in the 1935 film, “The Little Colonel.”

Since Lodge’s defeat every Connecticut governor who has sought re-election has won. When given the choice in the voting booth, voters in the land of steady habits apparently like to keep their governors. Something to think about in 2014.

After his defeat, Lodge went to serve as ambassador to three different countries, including Switzerland in the 1980s. He was appointed by Ronald Reagan, another actor who went to to become a governor.